NEET 2022: Aspirants to Go on Hunger Strike Seeking exam deferment, Demand Meeting With PM Modi
New Delhi: With only 11 days left for the NEET-UG 2022 examination, which is scheduled on July 17, the candidates have now decided to initiate hunger strike if the authorities do not respond to their requests for postponing the exam.
Demanding to meet the Prime Minister and express their grievances regarding the matter, the NEET 2022 aspirants have reached the PM's office, some of the users claimed on Twitter.
Calling it their "final campaign", the NEET aspirants are now using hashtags such as #NEETUGChaloMODIJIAwas, #MODIJIAwasNahiDoor to press for their demands further.
Medical Dialogues had been reporting about the escalating demands from the NEET UG 2022 aspirants seeking deferment of the exam by one month. Earlier around 10,000 aspirants had written to National Testing Agency (NTA) requesting to postpone the exam and allocate them with enough time for preparation. Writing to the agency, the aspirants had pointed out how the counselling for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test 2021 was incomplete and the scheduled date for NEET on July 17 is almost clashing with the dates for CUET & JEE Mains.
In order to press for demands of deferring the exam, the aspirants wrote to the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, initiated online petitions, used hashtags such as #postponeneetug2022, #JusticeforNeetStudents, #MODIJIdeferNEETUG to reach the authorities.
Their demands for rescheduling the exam received support from the India Wide Parents Association and the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), who wrote to the Prime Minister and the Union Education Minister respectively urging them to defer the exam by at least 40-45 days.
"There are lakhs of students who prepare for medical examination every year and this number is increasing every year. With millions of hope sticking, the process should not start or end in a hurry, " NSUI had mentioned in the letter.
However, the Union Education Ministry recently confirmed that the NEET UG 2022 exam will not be rescheduled. Meanwhile, while attending the India Today Education Conclave, the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed similar views.
However, the aspirants did not take such comments from the Education Minister in a positive way. Slamming the Minister for comparing NEET with every other school tests, the aspirants started trending the hashtag #RemoveDharmendraPradhan on Twitter.
Despite repeated Twitter storms, online petitions and protest, the authorities have not changed their decision and the NEET 2022 exam is due on its scheduled date on July 17, which is only 11 days to go.
With no response from the authorities, the NEET aspirants have now decided to go on hunger strike demanding to postpone the exam by 40 days. They have also demanded to meet the Prime Minister and express their grievances to PM Modi himself. Several aspirants are using hashtag #NEETUGChaloMODIJIAwas, indicating towards their possible plans of going to the Prime Minister's residence.
They claimed that they would reach the PM Residence at 10 a.m. on July 5 if the Prime Minister does not agree to meet them. They have also declared to initiate hunger strike if their demands remain unheard.
While, some of the representatives of the NEET aspirants, along with the students have reached the Prime Minister's office, the aspirants are terming to be "the last campaign" or the "final campaign" and urged the candidates to use hashtags such as #PMOHelpNEETUGAspirants #MODIJIextendNEETUG #NEETUGChaloMODIJIAwas #MODIJIAwasNahiDoor etc.
While the candidates are using different hashtags on Twitter to press for their demands for deferment of the exam, some of the representatives have already reached the Prime Minister's office and waiting to have a meeting with PM Narendra Modi ji.
Over 18.72 lakh candidates have registered for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, which is the centralized common entrance examination for admission into Undergraduate medical courses. The pan-India exam is scheduled to be held in 13 languages on July 17.
